Police nab two foreigners with 70 grams of heroin

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A joint team of the city police, immigration office and Jakarta Narcotics Agency arrested on Thursday two Nigerian citizens for possession of 70 grams of heroin.

The two, identified as Franky Okolha and Abdul Prince, were arrested in their rented house in Kota Bambu, Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta. They are now undergoing intensive questioning at City Police Headquarters.

"We nabbed them this morning in their rented house in Tanah Abang. We hope we can trace more drugs and their big bosses after the interrogation," unit head for psychotropic substances at the city police Adj. Sr. Comr. Mulyadi told The Jakarta Post.

He added that police would treat them as dealers, not users, as the weight of the substances was too heavy to be used by themselves.

Law No. 22/1997 on narcotics and Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances stipulate that a drug offense carries a maximum penalty of death.

Tanah Abang is notorious for illegal drug trade where many foreigners, mostly from African countries, sell drugs to Indonesian users or dealers. To cover up their activities, they often own clothing shops around the areas.

The joint team also raided 30 immigrants in area, 12 of whom have been detained by the immigration office for having no proper documents to stay in Indonesia, Mulyadi said.

"We will continue to conduct similar raids, as we believe that many (foreigners living in the area) are involved in drug dealing and have no documents to do business in Indonesia," he said.

Police said earlier that Indonesia had become the target for international drug syndicates, similar to the Philippines and Thailand.